“From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”Psalm 113:3
People who see my pictures on Instagram
(@RevSHW) or Facebook know that I love to take pictures of sunrises
and sunsets. Even though the sun always rises in the east and sets in
the west, no two sunrises or sunsets are ever the same. Each sunrise
and sunset is a unique creation given to us by God, specific to the
day and where we live.
I think that is pretty amazing.
One day recently, I took a picture of
the sunrise, and then later on that same day I took a picture of the
sunset. Both pictures were taken from within a few hundred yards of
each other, just in opposite directions at the beginning and end of
that day.
At the end of the day, I thought of the
verse from the psalm, “From the rising of the sun to the place
where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.” (Note: “From
the rising of the sun to the place where it sets is an ancient Hebrew
way of saying 24/7)
Two things came to mind for me. First,
on a personal level it means that my life should be dedicated to
praising God from the moment I awaken until I go to bed at night. All
day, every day, I should make it my goal to praise God in what I say
and by the way I live my life.
The other thing is that it should be
our prayer that the earth is immersed in praise for God, from the
farthest point east, to the farthest point west, and every point in
between. It makes sense, when you think about it, especially in light
of the verse that says, “The earth is the Lord's, and everything in
it.” (Psalm 24:1)
Praise should be our default. Praise
doesn't necessarily mean we're always happy or glad. It just means
that we give God the very best our heart can offer. Praise means we
should be in awe and wonder at God's mysterious ways. Praise means
giving glory to God in all things. Praise means saying, “Isn't God
amazing?!” even when we don't fully comprehend all of God's ways.
Praise means we acknowledge all that we have and all that we are
comes from God alone.
A favorite song that our late music
director loved to use in choral performances was “Total Praise,”
by Richard Smallwood. The refrain goes like this:
You are the source
of my strength.
You are the
strength of my life.
I lift my hands in
total praise to you.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism opens
with the question, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer is,
“Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
Assuming we can get past the archaic language and its propensity to
state everything with masculine pronouns, don't you think that is a
wonderful vision and mission statement for us all?
Glorify God, and enjoy God forever.
From the rising of the sun to the place
where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised!
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